Jurassic Park, the first installment in the acclaimed dinosaur franchise, profoundly influenced cinema since its release in 1993 — and it keeps doing so. Based on Michael Crichton‘s popular novel, the sci-fi movie was a blockbuster hit and became the oldest film in history to surpass $1 billion in ticket sales. It was directed by Steven Spielberg and has spawned six sequels, while also igniting a resurgence in creature-feature and monster movies, though not every resulting project was a success, including this 2009 flop.
Often described as a Jurassic Park rip-off, this disappointing sci-fi pic that shares a few similar features with the classic is surprisingly becoming popular among audiences. Many would agree that Land of the Lost, theatrically released on June 5, 2009, is one of the worst and most disappointing sci-fi films featuring dinosaur elements. Not only was it a commercial failure, grossing only $69 million against its massive $100 million budget, but it was also a critical misfire, earning an embarrassing 27% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Nevertheless, the negative reception hasn’t stopped audiences from recently flocking to Land of the Lost globally. As of this writing, the adventure comedy is trending on HBO Max, ranking as the third most-watched movie on the platform in several South American territories, among others. Leading the streaming list is the sci-fi horror sequel M3GAN 2.0, followed by Anna Kendrick’s serial killer drama Woman of the Hour, and rounding out the top five are Spider-Man: Homecoming and Cillian Murphy’s space movie, Sunshine.
Is ‘Land of the Lost’ Worth Watching?
Loosely based on Sid and Marty Krofft’s TV series of the same name that ran from 1974 to 1976 on NBC, Land of the Lost was directed by Brad Silberling, and written by Chris Henchy and Dennis McNicholas. It sees a space-time vortex suck scientist Rick Marshall (Will Ferrell), his assistant Holly (Anna Friel), and survivalist Will (Danny McBride) into a world populated by dinosaurs and painfully slow creatures called Sleestaks. With few resources at their disposal, Rick, Holly, and Will must rely on their only ally, a primate named Chaka (Jorma Taccone), to try to survive long enough to figure out a way back home. Land of the Lost received seven Golden Raspberry Award nominations, including Worst Picture, winning Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel.
Land of the Lost streams on HBO Max. Stay tuned to Collider for further information.